Afternoon Nap
by Kaoden
Summary: ZoroxRobin One-shot. On a particularly hot day aboard the Thousand Sunny, Zoro and Robin find themselves sitting next to each other in the shade. R&R!


A/N: This story is based off of a doujinshi that I saw on youtube once. I won't say what it was about for the sake of not ruining the story, but it may be familiar to some of you if you've ever seen it. I really liked the idea and I always wondered what they said in it or the conditions for the event, so I decided to make a story about it and add a little bit to it. Hope you all enjoy and be sure to drop a review and let me know what you think!

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It was a peaceful afternoon on the Thousand Sunny. There was a light, cool breeze coming in from the side and the sun shined brightly in the sky. It was a good thing that there was a breeze because the strawhats had begun to enter the climate of a summer island in one of its warmer cycles, causing the temperature to be extremely hot.

To avoid the heat, most of the crew was either inside their work rooms, living quarters, the Crow's Nest, or the observation room. Only two of the Straw Hat crew remained on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, one sleeping in the shade while the other was reading in the sun.

Nico Robin looked over to the green haired swordsman sitting not too far across from her. He was fast asleep, sitting down and leaning against the rail of the ship so that most of his body was in the shade. Only his right foot stuck out into the sun since his left foot was keeping his leg up, allowing him to balance his arms on the katana next to him that were leaning against the ship. Robin envied the swordsman since she had not been able to fall asleep for the past few days. She didn't sleep much, sure, but even the lightest of sleepers needed their fill every now and then.

The archeologist had been basking in the sun, which was now covered by clouds, reading a book for the better part of an hour. She had grown accustomed to warmer climates in her prolonged stay in Arabasta when she served under Crocodile. However, the heat continued to increase in intensity and soon not even Robin was able to comfortably sit in its presence. Robin looked into the small glass in front of her. It had been a cold beverage made by Sanji earlier, but the archeologist hadn't drunk much and now it had become lukewarm.

Raising her arm to her forehead, the raven haired archeologist rubbed her sleeve against it to wipe off perspiration that had begun to form. Robin considered asking Sanji for another drink, but put the thought aside after the clouds that had been blocking the sun cleared away, leaving the sun blazing in full force. She needed to get into the shade, at the very least, considering her companion still slept peacefully and had not yet been bothered by the oppressive heat. Walking over with her book in hand, the raven haired archeologist took the only spot that gave her sufficient shade, not too far from the sleeping swordsman.

The noise of someone sitting next to him and the intensifying heat on his right foot becoming too much to ignore caused Zoro to wake up. The green haired swordsman raised his left foot off of the ground, curling up his right leg inwards. He placed his left foot back on the ground in front of the right leg, allowing him to relax the leg without it sliding back out into the sun. Yawning and scratching the back of his head, Zoro looked over to see what the cause of the noise next to him was, his eyes suddenly widening when he realized that it was the archeologist sitting next to him.

"Oi! Why are you sitting here? Why aren't you sitting at the table like always?" Zoro practically shouted to his new companion.

Looking up from her book which she had begun reading again, Robin smiled and simply stated, "It was too hot where I was sitting, so I came to sit over here in the shade. You don't mind, do you, Kenshi-san?"

Zoro noticed that the archeologist looked rather exhausted, his reasoning only furthered by the slight delay and minor slur in her speech. A drop of sweat slid from the archeologist's brow, down her cheek, and finally to her chin before it fell to the ground.

Witnessing the sweat-drop and noting the obvious that the raven haired archeologist was indeed hot, Zoro answered, "Yeah, that's fine. I guess." He was satisfied with her answer; however the swordsman couldn't help but feel that he sounded a little awkward.

If he had sounded awkward, Robin hadn't noticed as she gave the swordsman another smile and returned to her book. Taking the gesture as a cue that the archeologist had nothing more to say, Zoro rested his chin on his chest and closed his eyes again, preparing to fall back asleep.

Zoro noticed that he was no longer tired anymore, but for some reason he didn't want to get up from his spot. Blaming it on the heat, the swordsman continued to keep his eyes closed in the off-chance that he would fall asleep again, listening to the ship rock back in forth in the ocean from the waves and to the birds flying by. Every now and then Zoro could hear the sound of a page being flipped, though the rate had been declining steadily.

After a couple of minutes, the green haired swordsman found himself becoming restless. He knew that he wasn't going to fall back asleep any time soon and that he could be spending the he was using to sit working out instead, but for some reason the Zoro couldn't bring himself to move. Tired of debating with himself, the swordsman sought to find something to distract his attention. The sound of another page being turned invaded the swordsman's ears, and he found himself unusually interested in the source.

Turning his head to the raven haired archeologist, Zoro peered over towards the book that she was reading. He couldn't make out too many of the words since he was at a bad angle. Leaning in closer to see the text, the green haired swordsman failed to realize his head was mere inches from his companion, a fact that did not go unnoticed by her.

"Interested?"

Zoro jolted back to the position he was in before. Looking over to the archeologist again, Zoro saw her return his gaze with an inquisitive look.

"Uh, yeah, sorta. What's the book about?"

Zoro reached back and furiously scratched the back of his head, a tint of red beginning to permeate his features. Not only had he sounded uncertain, the swordsman thought, the way he said it was even more awkward than earlier.

Unfazed by Zoro's demeanor, or perhaps deciding to ignore it, Robin tilted her head to the side and a larger smile than usual found its way onto her countenance.

"I think you'd like it. It's about swordsmanship. Famous and mythical swords as well as the stories behind them more specifically."

Zoro's eyes brightened at the mention of the subject of the book. The book entirely caught his attention and he found himself wanting to read it. As if she could see the eagerness in his eyes, Robin presented the book to the swordsman. He took it from her grasp with his left hand, leaving the page she had open so he can see where she was at.

_Thump._

Feeling a weight drop onto his shoulder, the green haired swordsman looked over curiously to the source and saw that Robin was resting her head on his right shoulder. Her left elbow separated his right arm from his body and the only way to get it back was to completely shift his position.

"Sorry, but I haven't had any sleep in days. I hope you don't mind. I'll only be out for a… little… while…"

The steady rise and decline of his companion's chest and the rhythmic feeling of her warm breath on his neck informed the swordsman that she had quickly fallen asleep. Unable to move his arm without disturbing the archeologist, Zoro decided to leave it as it was and grabbed the other edge of the book with his right hand, causing the pair to have their arms locked.

After Zoro flipped the book back to the first page, a smile subconsciously appeared on his face as began reading.

_Ending note: I tried using a different style of writing in contrast to what I usually do (the spoken lines each have their own paragraph). Is it easier to read that way? Is it more preferable? Just wondering because I'm not sure what is better to write in. Anyways, didn't want to miss my M/W/F schedule again but I didn't have the energy to make another 2.5-3k word story, so hopefully this makes up for it. I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot and I'll most likely put any more I make as additional chapters._


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